So, summer is cruising right along. Our posting habits have not changed. Shocker. The plan is to catch you up with multiple posts. Here’s the first one.
We started things off in June with a trip to Europe. No silly, of course we didn’t take the van! We took a plane. Like normal people.
Day one.
It was a 12-day whirlwind trip with our young friend, Trace, who turned twenty somewhere in Athens. If you ever have the opportunity to travel with a twenty-year-old superstar, I highly recommend doing so. This kid was amazing. He kept us entertained, navigated for us with his space phone, and carried the backpack through Athens, Venice, Florence and Rome. (Trace, if you’re reading this, we sincerely hope you had a good enough time to come and check on us occasionally in our quickly-approaching, doddering and childless old age. This is sort of our retirement plan. Not even kidding. So, all the kids we know out there- get ready.)
Our young friend Trace. He’s the one in the hat.
We crammed as much as possible into twelve days and he never flagged. Here are some of the highlights: the Acropolis, The Acropolis Museum, a bus tour to some Mycenaen ruins and the Theater of Epidaurus, a walking food tour of Athens (featuring water-buffalo rice pudding), checking out the loot from Agamemnon’s tomb, a rooftop airbnb in a palazzo in Venice, a boat trip to Murano and Burano, a happy hour cicchetti walking tour in Venice (it was a blast, check out our host’s other services. Seriously. Elena rocks.), some bartender named Pepe (also in Venice), Doge’s Palace, St. Mark’s Basilica, vaporetto rides, Il Duomo di Firenze, aperitivo in Santo Spirito, a Tuscan wine tasting day trip, Pompeii, the Vatican, two Crossfits, Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum, so many trains, so many airbnbs, so much food, so much wine. We’d do it again in a heartbeat.
We’ve been to Athens and Rome before, and we love them both. Based on the reports of pretty much everyone we know, we were prepared to tolerate Venice and fall in love with Florence. Not so much. Venice was the highlight of our trip, even though we were only there for a couple of days. Jennifer is talking seriously about moving there. (This is a not so uncommon phenomenon). I’m all for it. Theoretically. Ciao.
Jennifer. House hunting.
detached and amused 